Dec. 14-20, 2015
3 feature games this week, all of them involving ECU.
12/15/15-
ECU (Al Hutt) @
#21 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The Pirates could manage just 16 first half points, shooting just 31% for the game, and also turned it over 23 times. The result: a 36 point loss.
Final Score: #21 Florida- 73, ECU- 37
12/17/15-
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) @
ECU (Al Hutt) -- A close game at halftime, but Norfolk State went stone cold in the 2nd half, shooting just 39.5% for the game. ECU pulled away late.
Final Score: ECU- 62, Norfolk State- 50
12/19/15-
ECU (Al Hutt) @
#10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- The 2 Hutts going at it in this one, and Kentucky races to a 22 point halftime lead, forcing 23 turnovers in the game and winning with ease. Most frustrating part of the game for ECU: They shot 41.9% to Kentucky's 36.9%.
Final Score: #10 Kentucky- 72, ECU- 55
Now that those are out of the way, it's time for the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 1-9, 0-0 America East.
12/14/15 at UMass (L 80-29).
12/19/15 at Holy Cross (W 74-50).
Stop the presses, the Hawks have their first win of the season! And they did it in convincing fashion too, winning by 24. That takes away some of the sting of the 51 point loss at UMass.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-6, 0-0 American.
12/15/15 at #21 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
12/17/15 vs. Norfolk State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/19/15 at #10 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
Give the Pirates credit for wanting to play other human coached teams (ok, so FBCB set it up that way), but a 1-2 result against those teams is not what they hoped for.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10.
12/15/15 at #18 Virginia (L 78-57).
12/18/15 vs. UNC Wilmington (W 77-58).
12/20/15 at Wichita State (L 78-64).
Tough week for the Wildcats, who are playing a pretty strong non-conference schedule, and it won't get any easier next week.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-6, 0-0 Big 12.
12/18/15 vs. New Orleans (W 79-41).
A dominating performance for the Horned Frogs in their only game of the week, but you can bet they wished they'd have had that type of scoring output in South Dakota.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 5-4, 0-0 Big 10.
12/14/15 vs. Hofstra (L 83-75).
12/16/15 at Maryland Eastern Shore (W 97-81).
That Hofstra loss will sting for a while, as the Wolverines actually led late before falling apart. At least they ended the week with a nice road performance.
#11 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 9-1, 0-0 Big 10.
12/18/15 vs. Central Michigan (W 61-48).
The Spartans shake off the loss to Boise State with a subpar effort in their only game of the week.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-4, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/17/15 at N.C. State (L 57-54, OT).
The first of 4 brutal games on the schedule, and the 49ers will be kicking themselves for a while after this one. They led by 13 at halftime. Ugh!
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-3, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/17/15- Utah Classic First round vs. (4) Loyola MD (L 76-68).
12/19/15- Utah Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Southern (L 63-59).
Call it overconfidence if you want. The Owls went to Utah with a great chance to win the tournament, but instead come out and lay a big fat egg. Bummer.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 3-7, 2-3 MAAC.
12/18/15 vs. Canisius (L 74-65).
12/20/15 at St. Peter's (L 83-77, OT).
The week wasn't kind for the Hawks, who had 2 winnable games and lost them both.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-8, 0-0 MEAC.
12/17/15 at ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
12/20/15 vs. College of Charleston (W 63-51).
The Spartans get a much needed win to break a 5 game losing streak, but it came at the hands of a team with an RPI of 346. Ah well, when you're struggling, a win is a win I guess.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/17/15 at Wichita State (L 76-57).
12/20/15 vs. Denver (W 58-39).
Boy, the Shockers were not kind to our human coached teams this week, beating 2 of them. A nice win though over an in-state opponent as the Buffaloes rout Denver.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 6-2, 0-0 Pac 10.
12/16/15- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (15) Mt. St. Mary's (W 83-48).
12/18/15- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinals vs. (7) Stony Brook (W 62-52).
The Cardinal win 2 this week in Las Vegas, and will have at least one more game there next week as they'll play in the Semifinals, but the competition will get tougher. Richmond awaits in the semis and either Iowa State or Tulsa in the championship if they get there.
#6 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-0, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/16/15 vs. Miami OH (W 87-54).
12/18/15 vs. Columbia (W 106-83).
Easy week for the Bruins, who stay undefeated, beating up on a couple inferior opponents.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 3-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/15/15 at Tennessee Martin (W 65-62).
In their lone game of the week, the Cougars gutted out a road win that was close all the way.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 3-4, 0-0 SEC.
12/15/15 vs. South Florida (W 68-59).
12/19/15 at #22 Cincinnati (L 71-62).
The Crimson Tide just can't get that signature win over a ranked team. They've got a couple more chances next week.
#21 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-1, 0-0 SEC.
12/15/15 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
12/18/15 vs. Jacksonville (W 75-47).
The Gators have a good week against not the toughest competition, but still, 5 of their last 6 games winning by 25 or more points is impressive.
#10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-1, 0-0 SEC.
12/17/15 at Presbyterian (W 73-37).
12/19/15 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
Another easy week for the Wildcats, who looked much better this week than they have in the past couple.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-6, 1-0 Sun Belt.
12/16/15 vs. Lamar (W 55-49).
12/19/15 at Arkansas State (W 52-46).
A couple grind it out, 6 point wins for the Trojans, as they get Sun Belt play started off on the right foot.
Here's a look at the polls, not that I expect much change:
Code:
Top 25
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kansas (60) 9-0 1788 3 Big 12 Conference
2. Iowa 8-0 1687 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Louisville (10) 8-0 1660 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Gonzaga (2) 12-0 1603 5 West Coast Conference
5. UCLA 8-0 1527 6 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Villanova 9-1 1403 1 Big East Conference
7. North Carolina 10-0 1357 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Syracuse 8-1 1271 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Kentucky 9-1 1232 10 Southeastern Conference
10. Michigan State 9-1 1162 11 Big Ten Conference
11. Iowa State 11-0 1016 8 Big 12 Conference
12. Arizona 6-1 971 13 Pacific-12 Conference
13. VCU 8-1 959 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Ohio State 8-1 922 12 Big Ten Conference
15. Duke 8-1 814 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Notre Dame 6-1 738 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Baylor 7-1 576 9 Big 12 Conference
18. Florida 8-1 531 21 Southeastern Conference
19. Wisconsin 8-1 522 19 Big Ten Conference
20. Oklahoma 7-1 462 20 Big 12 Conference
21. Virginia 8-1 395 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Vanderbilt 9-1 247 24 Southeastern Conference
23. Cincinnati 9-1 207 22 American Athletic Conference
24. Marquette 9-1 145 23 Big East Conference
25. Miami 9-1 72 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Tulsa 9-0 70 American Athletic Conference
Murray State 10-0 20 Ohio Valley Conference
Vermont 8-0 18 America East Conference
North Florida 9-0 7 Atlantic Sun Conference
Texas 7-2 7 Big 12 Conference
Washington 8-1 4 Pacific-12 Conference
Winthrop 9-0 3 Big South Conference
Illinois 8-1 2 Big Ten Conference
UNLV 7-1 2 Mountain West Conference
UCLA, Kentucky, and Michigan State all move up a spot, while Florida moves up 3 spots.
Code:
Mid Major Top 25
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 12-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 8-1 1728 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 9-1 1639 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Tulsa 9-0 1516 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Murray State 10-0 1392 5 Ohio Valley Conference
6. South Dakota State 5-1 1291 7 Summit League
7. Vermont 8-0 1276 8 America East Conference
8. North Florida 9-0 1221 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
9. UNLV 7-1 1174 13 Mountain West Conference
10. Connecticut 9-2 1161 15 American Athletic Conference
11. Richmond 8-1 1104 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Winthrop 9-0 1104 10 Big South Conference
13. New Mexico 7-1 1080 12 Mountain West Conference
14. Illinois State 10-1 907 16 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 8-2 735 19 Southland Conference
16. Valparaiso 9-1 726 18 Horizon League
17. Eastern Kentucky 9-1 616 23 Ohio Valley Conference
18. Colorado State 8-1 615 20 Mountain West Conference
19. San Diego State 6-3 490 6 Mountain West Conference
20. Old Dominion 7-1 476 24 Conference USA
21. Northern Iowa 7-2 397 NR Missouri Valley Conference
22. Fordham 8-1 269 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UC Riverside 7-1 254 NR Big West Conference
24. St. Bonaventure 4-2 156 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 9-2 105 NR Conference USA
Others Receiving Votes:
George Washington 7-3 51 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Louis 8-2 28 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 9-2 27 America East Conference
Harvard 7-3 22 Ivy League
Toledo 7-2 7 Mid-American Conference
Middle Tennessee 6-2 6 Conference USA
New Mexico State 7-2 6 Western Athletic Conference
La Salle 7-3 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
Princeton 7-2 4 Ivy League
Eastern Washington 7-2 3 Big Sky Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 8-2 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
Massachusetts 6-3 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
UTEP 5-2 2 Conference USA
Quinnipiac 8-2 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
To nobodies surprise, Rice loses all their votes in the mid-major poll.